Undercover
by Wendbria
Summary: Team 7 and 8 have just been assigned a mission. They must stop the assassination of the Fire Daimyo, so they go undercover in the court to find the assailant. The catch? Sasuke and Hinata must go undercover as a prince and princess who are newly engaged. How will the dark traitorous Uchiha and the shy timid Hyuga deal with this arrangement? Will they grow closer or further apart?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So I heard that it is SasuHina month and I have always wanted to try writing a story about the unlikely couple. I hope you like it and please review if you have a chance. Always love hearing what you have to say.**

**ENJOY**

* * *

A man with a dog, a man with insects, and a woman with pupil-less lavender eyes walked down the busy main street of Konoha. They were all heading in the same direction, towards the Hokage's tower. The Hokage had called for Team 8's audience immediately.

"So what do you think that Hokage wants us for?" The boy with the dog, who had spiky brown hair and red triangle tattoos on his face was walking with his hands behind his head. "It better not be something stupid."

"I'm sure its going to be a new mission." The other man said, dressed in a hooded jacket and round glasses hiding most of his face.

"Well yeah of course, but what kind of mission is the real question. I mean we all are now ANBU since Hinata got her promotion." Kiba patted Hinata on the back.

The young woman staggered a step from the surprise touch.

"Ah, sorry Hinata."

"It's okay. I wasn't paying attention." She smiled at her friends. It was true, she was thinking about other things.

"What were you thinking about?" Kiba asked.

"Ah…um…you see…." Hinata started her old habit of playing with her fingers. She did not want to tell her friends how she was worried about this unknown mission and how she had this feeling that the Hokage had made a mistake making her ANBU. Her family still looked down at her and still saw her weak and useless. She subconsciously rubbed her arm where the newly applied tattoo still throbbed.

"It's fine Hinata. You don't have to tell us if you don't want to." Shino intervened when he saw her getting nervous.

She looked at him and gave him a grateful smile.

The four continued in comfortable silence as they made their way to the Hokage's office.

When they walked in they were a little surprised to see the old Team 7 standing in front of Tsunade. Four pairs of eyes turned and stared at the group.

"Perfect timing Team 8. Please come over."

Team 8 obeyed and stood next to Team 7.

Hinata looked over at the group. The young man that had once been the focus of her attention since she was a little girl turned to her and smiled. Hinata felt a light blush on her cheeks. She then looked at the young woman standing next to him with her unique pink colored hair and jade colored eyes. But the person next to Sakura sent chills down Hinata's spine. The man that had murdered more people then she cared to think about, the man known as a traitor and a mass murderer didn't even turn to acknowledge her.

The infamous Sasuke Uchiha had finally come back to Konoha about a year and a half ago. After a long probation he regained his powers back and was now one of the best ANBU members although Hinata was not lucky enough to work with since he returned but that looked like it was going to change.

"Now that you are all here we can go on to discuss the mission." Tsunade shuffled through the large stacks of paper she had scattered all over her desk until she pulled out a scroll. As she unraveled it, Hinata instantly recognized the seal of the Fire Daimyo. This was going to be an important mission. "We have sources that say that there is chatter going around about a possible assassination attempt on the Daimyo."

Hinata heard Sakura gasp.

Tsunade nodded. "So as you can conclude, this mission is of the upmost importance so I want you all at your best."

"Lady Tsunade," Sakura interrupted. "Won't it look suspicion to have six shinobi walking about the Daimyo at all times?"

"Yes, and I am glad you brought that up. The mission is more then just stopping the assassination. You must also find the person or group and stop them. There is no way to determine how long this mission will take so you will be going undercover."

"SWEET!" Naruto finally spoke. Hinata was a little surprised that he had been quiet for this long. "I've been itching for a new mission and an undercover one sounds perfect."

Tsunade rubbed her temples. It was obvious that the rumbustious blonde was grating on her last nerves. "The undercover story is to have a newly engaged prince and princess heading to the Daimyo's palace for a celebration and they are taking their most trusted body guards with them."

"Even better!" Naruto was practically bouncing with joy. Sasuke rolled his eyes at the dumb blonde. Hinata just smiled seeing Naruto act like a kid again. Its like nothing could get him down. Naruto wrapped his arm around Sakura's shoulders. "I volunteer Sakura and I to be the couple."

And the smile that had just appeared on Hinata's face quickly disappeared. Once again Naruto choose his teammate and seemed to have forgotten about her. She felt Kiba rub her back as a sign of comfort. He saw how disappointed Hinata was by Naruto's actions.

"I don't think so." Sakura bunched Naruto on the head and he fell to the ground.

"Ow." Naruto rubbed his head. "What was that for Sakura?"

"Hmph. There is no way I want to be a couple with you, even if it was just pretend."

"Idiots." Sasuke mumbled. Watching all of this take place made him sick. Why was he needed here anyways. He worked much better on his own. There were plenty of people here for the mission. He suddenly felt pressure on his arm. He looked down and saw his annoying former female teammate latched to his arm.

"Maybe Sasuke and I could play the couple." Sakura suggested as a light blush came to her face.

Sasuke instantly shoved the still fan-girl off of him. One of his many pet peeves was that he did not like to be touched...ever, especially by fan-girls. He never understood why Sakura was still obsessed with him. Even after all that he has done, she still had a stupid crush on him.

Tsunade could feel her hand inching towards her secret stash of sake. The way that Team 7 acted sometimes made them look like simple genin instead of ANBU members. She wished they would behave more like Team 8, who were standing to the side waiting diligently for more details on their assignment. "ENOUGH!"

Tsunade's outburst instantly brought everything back in line. "I already have the prince and princess chosen."

"Who?" Naruto, if he was sitting would be on the edge of his seat.

"The prince will be Sasuke Uchiha and the princess will be Hinata Hyuga."

There was complete silence in the room. Hinata's face went as pale as a ghost. She could feel all eyes on her, including the sharingan user's. She kept her head down with her bangs covering her face.

"How come teme gets to be the prince?" Naruto whined.

"Because I know how to act like one unlike you." Sasuke scoffed.

"Sasuke is right. Both him and Hinata have formal training on how to act in high society due to their clans. So they will have the easiest time blending in." Tsunade explained. "The rest of you will act as their bodyguards. Now you will be departing in three days. There are still some things that have to be prepared before you leave. Sakura, Naruto, Kiba, and Shino you can all leave to get ready. Sasuke and Hinata please stay here."

A visibly upset Naruto walked out the door with Sakura close behind. Kiba gave Hinata a reassuring smile and Shino gave her a slight nod before they walked out. Hinata walked over to stand next to the Uchiha as the door shut.

Tsunade place her chin on her laced fingers and looked at the pair. "Now I know this is a little unconvential but because we are dealing with the Fire Daimyo's safety we are doing whatever we can. Do you think you can handle pretending to be royalty?"

"H-hai." Hinata responded nervously. It wasn't the part about being royalty that worried Hinata. She is the heiress to the powerful Hyuga Clan. She was practically treated as royalty as it was. What made her nervous was the fact that she would have to act like a couple with Sasuke Uchiha.

Sasuke simply shrugged.

Tsunade turned her attention to the last Uchiha. "Sasuke, I know it has been a long time since you had to act formally so if you are rusty on the rules and such, I'm sure that Hinata here can teach..."

"I'm fine." Sasuke cut her off. It's true that it has been years since Sasuke had ever needed to be formal, but the lessons were so engrained into his head that he was sure that he could never forget. His father made sure that his sons were the symbol of absolute perfection so he drilled everything into his and Itachi's head so to never make a mistake.

"Very well." Tsunade decided to ignore his rudeness. "You will be playing newly engaged royal couple from the Land of Snow. Your names will be Sasuke Sendai and Hinata Koshimizu. Your names are too famous around the Fire Country. And you both will be co-captains of this mission."

"Um..Tsunade-sama.."

"Yes Hinata?" Tsunade smiled at the timid girl.

"What about my eyes? They too are known around the Fire Country."

"Ah yes. Thank you for reminding me." Tsunade shuffled through her desk and pulled out a small black box. "In here are a pair of dark brown colored contacts. They will cover up your eyes but still allow you to use your Byakugan."

Hinata took the box and gave a bow. "Thank you."

Tsunade nodded. "Now remeber you will be posing as royalty, so that means pack you ninja clothes, but Konoha will be supplying you with finer garments for when you have to be undercover. Any other questions?" Tsunade was answered with silence. "Good, you are dismissed."

Hinata bowed before she walked out. She looked over and saw that Sasuke was already gone.

* * *

It was the day of the departure and Hinata was already at the gate waiting for everyone else to make their way. She looked up at the sky. It was a nice bright day. The sun the same color as Naruto's hair and the sky the color of his eyes. She then looked over to the forest where she saw cherry blossoms at the end of their blooming cycle, but their petals still the soft pink that matched Sakura's hair so well and the other trees with the leaves matching her eyes.

The sky and the earth. Both of them represented so well by the members of Team 7, but what about the last member? What is it that he represented so well?

When Hinata thought about Sasuke's hair, eyes, and his disposition, they all had one thing in common and that was darkness. His ink black hair, jet black eyes, and his brooding personality made him a perfect representation of the night. He was mysterious and people feared him. But Hinata couldn't help but think there was more to the last Uchiha then just death, murder, and destruction. He was still a person after all. Somewhere within him there was still light.

"What's with that stupid look on your face?"

Hinata's trance was broken and she looked over at the person she was just thinking about a moment ago. She blushed due to being caught. "H-hello Sasuke-sun"

"Sasuke."

"W-what?" Hinata looked at him with large eyes.

"Call me Sasuke. We don't need you messing up this entire mission. We are suppose to be engaged so cut the suffix."

Hinata looked down, unable to look the man in the face. "V-very well S-sasuke."

"And stop with the stuttering. You sound like a five year old."

Hinata wasn't sure what to do. She had been working a lot on her stutter and she thought that she was improving but being around Sasuke brought it all back. Thinking it was just best if she stayed quiet, she simply nodded.

The two just stood there in silence, waiting for the others to arrive. Hinata glanced over at Sasuke and saw that he was leaning against the wall, looking bored.

"HINATA!" She turned and felt a wave of relief as she saw Kiba riding on Akamaru with Shino walking beside them. She smiled and waved back. "Sorry for keeping you waiting. I had to get the okay from my sister for Akamaru to go on this mission."

"It's fine. We still have to wait for Naruto and Sakura anyways."

"How are they not here? We were running behind by half an hour." Kiba questioned.

"Those idiots are always running late." Sasuke said from the shadows.

"I'm sure they will be here soon, besides Tsunade is meeting us here at the gate before we leave."

"Why?" Kiba asked.

"Something about travel supplies." Hinata said. Tsunade had given her instructions yesterday to have everyone wait until she arrived.

"But we already have everything."

"Not necessarily." Shino intervened. "Don't forget we have to look like bodyguards and Hinata a princess. So of course she will need more royal looking garments."

Kiba sighed. "I guess so. I just hope they get here soon."

Just then Hinata peaked over Kiba's shoulder and saw a loud dust cloud coming their way. "What is that?"

Sasuke looked up and knew instantly what the cloud dust was. "About time." He mumbled.

"I"M HERE!" Naruto came to a sudden stop in front of Team 8 breathing heavy. "Sorry...I'm...late...had...to...finish...packing. " He said in between catching his breath.

"It is fine Naruto. Sakura is still not here."

"What!? I've never beaten Sakura before."

"She needs to hurry up though or we are going to be running late." Shino looked up at the sky. "It takes us almost a week to get to the Fire Daimyo."

That's when the five shinobi heard screaming. They all looked up and saw an even larger dust cloud then Naruto's heading their way.

"What the..."

"LADY TSUNADE SLOW DOWN!"

The dust cloud came to a stop in front of the five shinobi. Hinata started to cough waving the dust from her face. Once the dust had cleared she and the rest of her team was stunned at what they were looking at.

Tsunade was sitting on top of what looked like a horse drawn carriage. It was rather large, easily fitting six people in the back. It was elegant looking with its different shades of white, light blue, and lavender. It looked almost like it was made out of ice. It had elaborate swirls going around it made out of crystal that shined in the sunlight. Pulling the extravagant coach was not horses like one would suspect, instead it was being pulled by two large elk looking creatures.

"Holy crap." Kiba mumbled out. Everyone was in utter awe. Hinata had never been on a mission that needed something like this.

"Are you trying to kill us Lady Tsunade?" Shizune called out as she opened the door of the coach and walked out with Sakura following after her.

"No kidding. It's not as smooth as it might look back there." She flashed everyone a smile. "Sorry I'm so late."

"So what do you all think?" Tsunade said with a grin.

"This thing is amazing!" Naruto exclaimed. "It's so cool."

"This will be your transportation to meet with the Fire Daimyo. You need to arrive in style if we want to pull off this mission." She pointed towards the coach. "Inside is all the royal looking garments that you will need."

"What's with the elk things?" Kiba went to pet one on its muzzle but it snorted and Kiba retracted his hand.

"You all are from the Land of Snow so you need to look like it. Horses wouldn't suffice."

Hinata smiled. This was getting more excited. She had never ridden in a coach before. She looked over her shoulder at Sasuke. He was still leaning against the wall unfazed by the unusual entrance of the Hokage.

"Now that everyone is here and your transportation is ready, you are all set to go. And remember your suppose to be royalty." Tsunade jumped off.

"Okay, who is gonna drive this thing?" Kiba asked. "Cause i know I'm not. I don't ride anything that isn't Akamaru." He petted his nin-dog.

Shino pushed his glasses back into place. "I will drive. Everyone else can sit in the back until we get further into the forest."

They all nodded in agreement and got into the back with Akamaru jumping on the roof of the coach. Sasuke was the last one in and he shut the door.

Shino clucked his tongue and the elk trotted off.

Tsunade and Shizune waved goodbye. "Good luck."

* * *

The coach rattled along, the only noise coming from the tumbling of the luggage. All five people sitting in the coach sat in silence. Kiba, Naruto, and Sakura sat on one side while Hinata and Sasuke sat on the other. Hinata as close to the wall as possible, giving Sasuke the maximum amount of space.

No one made a sound until the coach came to an abrupt halt. The door opened and Shino looked into the coach. "If any of you like to walk outside, you can do so now. The road is now wide enough."

Immediately Sasuke stood up and walked out.

"I think I'll stay in here for now." Sakura said. "I think I will sleep and then I can take the first look out."

"That sounds like a good idea, I think I"ll do the same."

"Oh no you don't." Sakura pushed Naruto out of the coach. "You are going to walk with everyone else and leave me alone." With that she slammed the door shut.

"Hey Akamaru," Kiba called to his dog. "Let's go scout ahead."

The dog barked and jumped down from the roof to follow his owner.

"What do you want to do Hinata?" Shino turned to the heiress.

"Um...could I ride up top with you Shino? Maybe you can teach me how to drive it."

"Of course. I will happily teach you." Hinata wasn't entirely sure but she thought that Shino might actually be smiling under his coat.

"Um..N-Naruto," Hinata turned nervously to the blonde. "W-what are you going to do?"

Naruto shrugged. "Probably catch up to Kiba or something. You guys go ahead and drive the coach."

"O-okay." Hinata watched Naruto's figure walk away until he jumped into the trees.

"Shall we go?"

Hinata looked up and saw that Shino was already seated in the driver's bench. He reached down to grab her hand and hoisted her up to sit next to him. He then handed her the reins.

"It's tricky at first. Many people get the reins tangled, but once you get that settled it is real easy."

"How do you know this?" Hinata couldn't help but ask.

"My father taught me once when we went on a mission together. He said that you never know when this will come in handy. I guess he was right."

Hinata let out a small giggle. A lot of people thought that Shino was weird, awkward, and creepy due to his mysterious aura and his affinity for insects, but Hinata knew otherwise. It had taken her some time to get use to the constant buzzing around him but she quickly learned that Shino was smart, attentive, and an overall good friend. She couldn't imagine where she would be now if it wasn't for his constant support, she probably would have never become the kunochi she was today.

"Just cluck to them and they will know what to do and if you want them to stop just pull back on the reins gently and say woah."

Hinata did what he said and soon she felt the coach rattle beneath her and heard the crunch of the road under the wheels. She moved the carriage along with a large smile on her face.

* * *

The darkness was what he knew best. He blended so well into it that it was almost ghost like. He jumped through the trees effortlessly and without a sound. He was the darkness.

So many people were scared of him. They hid in their homes when he walked down the street. They shivered when he would look their way. To them he was still a traitor, still a mass murderer even after following the rules for over a year. But it didn't matter to him. He liked the fact that they were scared of him. He liked how he sent fear through them with a simple glance. And he didn't care if they didn't see him as one of them. He was simply back in Konoha because he had nothing else left in the outside world. He had succeeded in his goal, he had killed his brother.

But now he didn't know what to do with his life. What does a person do once they reach their ultimate goal? But Sasuke didn't care. He did not care if he lived or if he died. If he was to die an honorable death on a mission he would be fine with it, he would actually be happy about it. For he had nothing to live for, so why live?

Sasuke jumped through the trees scouting the area for any disturbances. This entire mission was a complete waste of his time. Why would he care of the Fire Daimyo died? It would serve him right. He was practically useless. He was indecisive and an complete moron. Sasuke couldn't believe someone like him was on a seat of such power. And the whole idea of him being a prince was also moronic. He did not want to be in the spotlight with everyone staring at him. He wasn't like the dobe who craved for attention. He would much rather be off the side, in the darkness. And his so called princess was a joke as well. Hinata Hyuga, heiress to the great Hyuga Clan was nothing more then a whimpering weakling. She had no real power and was to timid and to shy to be anything more then weak. He didn't know how he was going to pull off being engaged to her.

This was going to be a long mission. Not only would he have to pretend to be attracted to the Hyuga weaking, but he also had to deal with the dobe, the fan-girl, dog breath, and bug boy. Sasuke couldn't help but wonder why he came back to Konoha in the first place.

Suddenly Sasuke heard the light rustling of leaves near him. He then felt a familiar chakra signature.

"What do you want?"

"There you are Sasuke." Naruto started to jump next to the Uchiha. "I was starting to wonder if you ran off."

"It's cross my mind."

Naruto gave him a look but otherwise ignored the comment. "Anyways, Kiba and I went ahead and found a small village ahead that had an Inn. We already reserved some rooms for the night. I'm off to let the others know."

"Fine."

Naruto let out a sigh. "We need you in the coach. Even in this village we need to be undercover. Word spreads fast and when we roll up in that coach people are sure to ask questions."

Sasuke gave him a glare, but followed him back to the main path anyways.


	2. Chapter 2

When Naruto and Sasuke arrived the carriage had been stopped and Shino and Sakura were standing next to the elk.

"Where's Hinata?" Naruto asked as he landed next to the two.

"She is inside the carriage changing. We need keep the appearance of upperclass." Sakura explained. "Did you find Sasuke?"

Just then Sasuke landed next to her making her jump slightly.

"Great, you can change after Hinata. Tsunade packed your garments as well."

"Hn."

A few moments later the door to the carriage opened and they saw small delicate feet step down. Once the door closed it revealed a blushing Hinata dressed in a tan colored yukata with white embroidery and a white obi. For many it would be an elegant gown but for a princess it was normal traveling attire.

"You look wonderful."

Hinata looked up at everyone for the first time.

"Woah." Naruto mumbled when everyone saw Hinata's eyes. She had put in the contacts and now had regular brown eyes. "It's kinda weird seeing you without your eyes."

Sakura nodded in agreement.

Hinata blush deepened with all the attention on her. "I a-already l-laid out your yukata S-Sasuke." Hinata winced at her stuttering. She knew that Sasuke hated it but she couldn't control it with that glare on her.

"Hn." Sasuke walked past Hinata and up into the carriage and in no time at all he walked back out dressed in a grey yukata with a thin black obi.

Hinata noticed Sakura's eyes go wide looking at Sasuke. She knew that Sakura had always had a crush on Sasuke but she didn't realize that she still had such strong feelings for him. She had thought that with everything that he had put her through that she was over him. But she really didn't have room to talk. She had literally put her life on the line numerous times for Naruto and he had done nothing in response to her confession so many years ago. And althought Hinata wasn't completely sure if she wanted to admit it, but her crush didn't seem as strong as it use to be.

Sasuke didn't respond to Sakura's comment. He knew she was just fan-girling over him and if she did this every time he dressed nicely this mission was going to be even more annoying.

"Oh wow, what an outfit man." Naruto started to laugh but it quickly ceased when a kunai whizzed past his ear and was embedded into a tree behind him. "Alright, alright. I get it."

"I think this is a good time to get moving." Shino broke the tension. "Hinata and Sasuke, you should get in the carriage while I drive and Sakura and Naruto walk beside the carriage. We should arrive in less then twenty minutes."

Hinata nodded and gathered up the delicate fabric so not to trip. She went to open the door but was astonished when she saw Sasuke opening the door for her.

"After you princess." Sasuke said with an edge in his voice.

"T-thank you." Hinata quickly went into the carriage with Sasuke behind her. He shut the door and the carriage was off.

Sasuke sat on one side and Hinata sat on the other. They didn't talk, deciding that silence was best. Hinata didn't mind. She liked quiet. Kiba was the talker of the group, but when it was just her and Shino they wouldn't say much and just enjoy each other's company in comfortable silence. It seemed to be that way with Sasuke as well. He was the quiet one on his team. Letting Sakura and Naruto voice their opinions and keeping his to himself.

She looked over at the Uchiha. He was currently looking out the window. She couldn't make out his face because it was covered by a shadow.

"_It's like the darkness follows him."_

"Stop staring."

Hinata broke out of her trance once again by Sasuke. "W-what?"

"You're staring. Quit it."

Hinata blushed getting caught. "S-sorry."

"And what did I say about the stuttering?"

"I-I know b-but I can't h-help it."

"Work on it then. I've heard you talk to dog breath and bug boy without stuttering."

"T-that's because they are m-my t-teammates and f-friends. And c-could you not called them t-that? P-please?"

"Hn. Whatever." Sasuke turned back to gazing outside.

Hinata sighed. She hoped this carriage ride would be over soon.

Her prayers were answered a few minutes later there was a knock on the door. "We are here." Naruto called out.

Hinata stood up closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then her eyes and the door opened and sunlight showed through. Hinata walked down the stairs with grace, taking Naruto's hand for support.

"Thank you Naruto-kun."

Sasuke raised his eyebrow. _"Did she just talk to Naruto and NOT stutter?"_ He was a little shocked by Hinata's change in personality but he quickly covered it up with his usual emotionless face.

Sasuke walked down and looked around the small village.

It was nothing special. It was small that was for sure. From where he was standing he could see that the place only had one hotel and a handful of restaurants. He then noticed a group of people gathering and they were all staring at the carriage and them. He rolled his eyes at the group. He couldn't wait to get inside and away from everyone.

He looked over and saw dog breath along with his companion walking their way waving his hand. "Over here!"

As Kiba came closer he saw the outfits that Hinata and Sasuke were wearing. "Oh wow, Hinata you look…"

But he was suddenly cut off when Hinata held up her hand to silence him. She then gave him a glare that Sasuke had never seen before. "Kiba-san do not talk to me so formally. You will call me either Hinata-hime or Hinata no kimi. Do you understand because if you do not then I will have no choice but to demote you."

Sasuke watched as Hinata took command and reprimanded dog breath, but he could tell from the look on her face afterwards that she felt bad about what she did but she had to keep in character. He would never admit it but she actually impressed him just now. Who knew that little ole Hinata could actually pretend to have a backbone. But even he knew that once they were out of sight of the public that she would quickly apoligize.

Kiba broke out of his shock and gave Hinata a bow. "Of course. My sincere apologies Hinata-hime." He stood back up and gave her a smile telling her that his feelings weren't hurt. "The manager was kind enough to give us three rooms. Shall I take your luggage to your room? I already declared it safe."

"That is fine. Thank you." Hinata bowed her head in acknowledgement and then turned to Sasuke. "Coming dear?"

Sasuke was a little taken aback from Hinata but covered it up quickly and simply nodded as he followed her into the hotel while the others took their bags out.

A large bald man who looked like he was in his fifties smiled at the two as they walked into the lobby.

Just by looking at the lobby, Sasuke could tell that it was a shabby place. The chairs were old and wobbly with their cushions dull and an ugly yellow.

The man bowed. "Hello your majestys, I am truly honored that you have chosen to take shelter in my modest establishment."

"Thank you for your kindness. Now we have had a long and tiring journey and if your would be so kind to show us to our rooms we will be most obliges." Hinata gave the man a kind smile and Sasuke could have sworn that he saw that old man actually blush.

"Yes, yes, of course! Right this way." The man moved from behind his desk and walked down the long hallway until he came to the very last door at the end. He then pulled out two keys and handed them to Sasuke. "This is the finest room we have. If you need anything at all please do not hesitate to ask."

"There is one thing." Hinata said before he walked away. "Where have your roomed our bodyguards. We need them close by."

Sasuke once again was impressed. She was keeping the cover as well as asking the correct questions. Even he himself didn't think to ask where the others would be staying.

"Ah yes, they will be staying in these two rooms right next to you." The man gestured to the next two doors.

Hinata nodded in approval. "Thank you."

The man bowed again and went back down the hallway, passing the rest of the team.

"Let's go inside to get some privacy." Hinata suggested. She then looked over at Sasuke who walked over and unlocked the door. His eyebrows raised as he glanced at the room inside.

It was nothing like the lobby the room looked freshly painted a cream color with the bed spread and the rest of the room decorated in a golden yellow. It was larger then most rooms. It had a bedroom with a king sized bed with a bathroom connected and on the other side there was a sitting room with a kitchen.

"Man why does Sasuke always get the good room?" Naruto whined.

"Because he is pretending to be a prince your dolt."Kiba responded. "Now can we go get something to eat? I'm starving."

"How about ramen?"

Everyone shook their heads at Naruto.

"It's not always about you Naruto. Maybe some of us don't want to eat nasty ramen."

Naruto looked like he had been stabbed in the heart by Sakura's comment. "Then what should we do about food?"

"I-I could make e-everyone dinner." Hinata's confidence was gone and usual timid Hinata was back.

"Oh yeah! That would totally be awesome Hinata." Kiba jumped for joy. "Of course you must write down the list of what you need. We wouldn't want our _princess _walking around shopping." He joked.

Hinata face had a look of horror. "I'm so so very sorry Kiba."

Kiba waved his hand at her. "It's no big deal. It was a my own fault, but you can make it up to me by making us dinner."

Hinata smiled relieved that he wasn't mad.

* * *

"Oh wow! This all looks and smells amazing!" Naruto actually started to drool over the spread that Hinata had placed on the table.

"I h-hope you all enjoy it." With that, Kiba and Naruto jumped in.

"Holy crap! Hinata this might be the best ramen I've ever had even better then the old man's." Naruto was already on his third bowl of the stuff.

Hinata had a huge smile on her face. She loved to cook and loved it even more when she saw that people were enjoying it. She walked back to the kitchen and grabbed a bowl that was still left on the counter. She then put the bowl on the ground for Akamaru. "Here you go. Hope you like your dinner too." She petted the large white dog as he gabbled down his dinner with his tail wagging. She looked over at the table and saw that Naruto was still eating the ramen, she inwarderly was glad that she made extra of it, Kiba was trying to reach for the ramen as well but Naruto was pushing him away, Sakura was eating some yakisoba, and Shino was slowly eating a bowl of miso soup. She then glanced over at Sasuke.

He had been quiet for most of the trip and still hadn't said much since they stopped at the inn. He was sitting at the end of the table watching Naruto and Kiba in disgust. Hinata then noticed him make a move for the salad that she had made from the village's local produce. Her keen eyes also noticed that he took most of the tomatoes that were in the dish.

Sasuke took a bite of the salad and was surprised that it was actually good. It had been a while since he had actual decent food. When on missions he would usually have something simple like cooked fish or soup, or ramen if Naruto was with him. Sasuke looked over and saw that Hinata was still standing in the kitchen. "Well..." Sasuke directed at Hinata. "Are you going to eat too or just stand there like an idiot?"

Hinata was a little taken aback by Sasuke's sudden comment. She nodded her head. "Oh yes." She quickly walked over and took a seat at the other end of the table. Directly across the table from the Uchiha. Hinata kept her head down, not wanting to make eye contact with him. She went and grabbed a bowl of the soup and slowly sipped on the warm liquid.

Once everyone was done eating they got up and headed for their rooms to sleep.

"Sweet! Sakura and I get to share a bedroom." Naruto instantly received a punch to the face.

"Not in your life Naruto. I slept in the carriage on the way here remember? I will be taking first watch and then you will take over."

Naruto rubbed his face. "Aw but Sakura..." But he stopped when he saw the look that Sakura gave him.

"And I think that is our cue to leave. Night you guys." Kiba, Akamaru, and Shino walked out and headed to their own room.

Hinata's eyes widened when realization hit her. Kiba and Shino were sharing a room, Sakura and Naruto were short of sharing a room, that meant... Hinata turned her head and looked up at the impassive face of Uchiha. She would be sharing a room with Sasuke. Her heartbeat instantly started to increase.

How was she able to get any sleep in the same room as the Uchiha?

"Good night you guys." Sakura left dragging Naruto with her.

_"Does anyone realize how I have to share a room with Sasuke?_" Hinata then thought about it for a minute. "_I guess we need to. We have to stay undercover after all." _

Sasuke was still sitting in his seat and looked over at the Hyuga who now was starting to get red in the face_. "Did she just realize we will have to share a room?" _Sasuke rolled his eyes. The chair screeched as Sasuke stood up. "You can have the bed. I'll sleep on the couch."

"Oh no. You t-take the bed. I have been sitting in the carriage most of the day so I'm not that t-tired."

Sasuke shrugged. "Suit yourself." He then turned and walked to the bed.

Hinata was a little surprised that he did not argue but it didn't matter they had yet another long day ahead of them tomorrw. They still had a few more days of traveling and then the real mission begins. Hinata decided that to help with her tight muscles, a nice hot shower would do her some good. She looked for Sasuke and saw him looking out the window.

"I'm g-going to go take a s-shower." Hinata kept her head down and practically ran into the bathroom. She quickly shut the door and leaned against it. She was a little surprised by how nice the bathroom was. It wasn't that large but it had a shower, bath, large sink, and a toilet and they were very clean. She turned on the water of the shower and waited until it was the right temperature. Stripping down she walked in and instantly relaxed as the hot water hit her body.

_"This is one interesting mission. I would never have thought that I would have to pretend that I have a romantic relationship with THE Sasuke Uchiha." _Hinata couldn't help but feel a little bad for Sakura. She knew that this mission had to hurt her a little bit. She had been pining after the sharingan user for as long as Hinata could remember. _"But I sorta know how she feels. Naruto is always chasing after her and never giving me the light of day."_

Hinata thought more about the orange clad ninja. It use to be that just the very thought of him made her weak at the knees and made her heart do a flip but as more time past and as he still never gave her any attention, the feelings started to evaporate. Her feelings for Naruto were just a simple childhood crush, there was no substance there. Just heartbreak and one-sided feelings. Hinata couldn't help but be a little proud of herself for being able to move on from Naruto. Sure it has taken her a long time to do it but it was something.

She knew that she was still not 100% over him but it was defiantly a start when she didn't even faint in front of him anymore.

_"I can put more attention on this mission now." _Hinata started to shampoo her hair. "_If the Fire Daimyo is in danger then it is our duty to protect him. Why would someone want to kill him? There had to be a reason. He had sat in the Daimyo position for quite some time, so it there could be more to it then just to overthrow the man and take the seat." _Hinata thought a little bit more about the mission before she realized that she had been in the shower for quite some time. So long, in fact that her fingers started to wrinkle.

She quickly turned off the shower and grabbed a towel to dry off. That's when she realized that she did not bring and spare clothes into the bathroom with her. Hinata panicked for a moment before she spotted a white bath robe. Sighing in relief, she grabbed it and put it on. She then cracked the door open and peaked out to see where Sasuke was.

Hinata instantly saw him laying on the bed. He had one leg hanging off the side. He also had his arm covering his face.

_"Good, he must be asleep." _Trying to be as quiet as possible, Hinata tiptoed over to the couch were her bag was.

"What are you doing?"

Hinata let out a eep, but because she was still wet from the shower she slipped and started to fall backwards. She shut her eyes waiting for the crash but it never came. Instead she felt two strong arms wrap around her.

"Try not to be so clumsy."

Hinata opened her eyes and saw a pair of deep black ones looking back at her.

"S-sorry."

He helped her up to her feet and took a step backwards. That's when he looked and saw that she only had on a robe. It wasn't much. It was short and only came to her mid thigh. It was also made of thin fabric so there wasn't much to leave to the imagination.

Hinata saw him giving her the up-down. She looked down and saw that she was still in the robe. Letting out anoter eep, her face turned as red as a tomato. She tried her best to cover herself up with her hands.

Noticing her discomfort, Sasuke turned around and headed to the bathroom. Hinata took this chance to run over and quickly change. A minute later Sasuke reemerged and went straight for his bed.

"G-good night Sasuke." Hinata whispered from the couch. All she received back was a grunt.


	3. Chapter 3

Hinata woke up bright and early the next morning. Having slept pretty well and being in a good mood, Hinata decided to treat everyone to a nice warm breakfast before they started their trip. Putting on her usual clothes, she headed off to the morning market.

She walked through the streets looking at the different food vendors when she stopped at a vegetable stand.

"Hello miss. How can i help you?" An elder man gave Hinata a smile.

"Good morning, I was wondering if you had any fresh tomatoes."

"Why yes we do, they were just picked early this morning."

Hinata looked at the red orbs and smiled. She bought a dozen and put them in her bag, she then went on to buy the rest of her groceries.

Sasuke woke up in a bad mood, worst then usual. His night was plagued with nightmares. Every time he would close his eyes he saw his family being slaughtered. Being taken down one by one and when he tried to scream no noise came out. He couldn't move or make a sound. All he could do was watch as his family fell to the ground and a pool of blood started to surround them.

It was a nightmare that haunted him ever since he was little. It happened almost every night. It seemed that no matter what he did, the image of his father and mother's corpses never left his mind. It almost meant that he have never had a good nights sleep. And every morning he would wake up with an awful feeling of who there could have been some way to save them. If he had only been stronger he could have stopped his brother before the massacre. Deciding that he needed a shower, he got up and went to the bathroom, the shy Hyuga not even a thought.

The hot water helped to ease the tension in his muscles. He tried his best to let the water wash away the nightmare that had haunted him through the night, but no matter how long he stood there, the reminisce of the nightmare were still there. Sasuke finished up in the shower and dried himself off and put some pants on, having forgotten his shirt in his bag.

When he opened his door he was engulfed in the smell of cinnamon and sugar. He then heard humming coming from the kitchen. That was when he remembered that there was someone else in the room with him. Walking around the corner he saw the Hyuga girl with her back facing him, cooking over the stove. She seemed so involved in her cooking that she did not notice his presence.

Hinata finished up cooking the pancakes and could smell the cinnamon rolls in the oven. Everything was almost done. She turned around to set the table and nearly screamed when she saw someone staring at her. She stepped back in surprise. Sasuke was standing there looking at her, with no shirt on. Hinata's face turned red as she stared at the Uchiha's muscular chest.

"What are you doing?"

"I-I'm making breakfast for everyone." Hinata looked down so not to stare.

"Hn." Sasuke turned around to finish getting ready for the day of travel.

A few minutes later there was a knock on the door. Hinata ran over and opened it to reveal the rest of the team.

"Morning Hinata." Naruto smiled brightly and sniffed the air. "And what smells so good?"

Kiba sniffed the air too. "Aw man, are those your famous banana nut pancakes?"

"Yes they are. I wanted to make everyone breakfast before we headed out."

"You are seriously the best Hinata." Naruto ran over and gave Hinata a hug. Her face turned red but she did not faint which caught the attention of the rest of Team 8.

"Where's Sasuke?" Sakura looked around the living room and kitchen.

"Right here." Sasuke came out of the bedroom.

"Now that everyone is here, can we eat? Pplleeaassse." Naruto begged.

Hinata smiled and nodded. Everyone took their seats while Hinata placed the pancakes and cinnamon rolls on the table with glasses of milk and orange juice.

Sasuke sat in his chair and watched as everyone ate the food. His plate was empty though. He hated sweets.

"H-here Sasuke, I m-made this especially for you." Hinata placed a plate in front of Sasuke with a blush.

He looked down and saw that Hinata had made him an omelet with tomatoes. He looked across the table at the blushing Hyuga but she would not meet his gaze. He looked back down at the food and had a flashback to when he was little and his mom would make him breakfast every Sunday morning. _"How did she know what I like?"_

* * *

Once breakfast was done everyone quickly got ready for their departure. Sasuke and Hinata put their yukatas over their outfits for appearences. Their plan was to take them off once they were out of town.

Hinata put on her fake persona once again and walked into the carriage with grace with Sasuke following behind. Shino snapped the reins and the carriage was off with Sakura and Naruto taking the sides and Kiba riding Akamaru in the rear. Once they were out of the village they received a knock on the door. Both Sasuke and Hinata undid their yukatas but still sat in the carriage.

The two sat in silence for some time. Both looking out their own windows when Sasuke finally broke the silence. "How did you know?"

A little startled by the question. "H-how did I know what?"

"How did you know I did not like sweets?"

At this Hinata blushed. "Ah..well...S-Sakura told me once a long time ago. S-she was upset once about how she had made you a cake but you h-had said that you hated sweets and shut the door in her face."

_"She remembered that? That had to be years and years ago. Why would she care?"_

The carriage went back into silence. Until Sasuke saw Hinata rummaging through her bag until she pulled out a box. "H-here." She passed him the box. "I m-made these for you...for l-lunch."

Sasuke opened the box and saw a couple of rice balls inside.

"T-they have a tomato filling." Hinata explained. "I n-noticed how you l-like tomatoes last night at dinner." Hinata blushed.

Sasuke looked down at the box. "Thanks."

Hinata nodded back and smiled. She then pulled out other boxes and left the carriage, when it had stopped for lunch.

Sasuke looked back at his lunch. He took a bite of the onigiri and smiled as he tasted the tangy flavor of the tomatoes. The rice balls were well made. Not falling apart when he took another bite and they were actually good.

He had not had food like this since he was kid and his mother was still alive. It felt nice to have someone care enough about you to make your favorite foods. Maybe the Hyuga wasn't as bad as he thought.

When he had finished his meal he got out of the carriage and decided to stretch out his legs.

"Oh good, your out. Now I can have a rest." Naruto jumped into the coach.

Sasuke shook his head. "Idiot." He then looked around. They were in the obviously still in the forest. The trees supplying coverage and shade from the hot sun. He spotted Sakura and Kiba walking and talking together. He saw Shino jumping in the trees next to the coach. _"If he isn't driving, then who is?" _Sasuke looked over at the driver's bench and saw that long indigo hair.

Being bored, Sasuke decided to have a little fun.

Hinata was enjoying her time driving the carriage. The elk were well behaved and listened when she pulled on the reins or clucked at them to go faster. It was actually quite relaxing hearing the sounds of their hooves hitting the ground and the wheels turning.

"Enjoying yourself?"

Hinata let out a small eep and looked over to see Sasuke sitting next to her, much to her shock. Not totally sure on how to respond she simply nodded.

"I don't think it is very princess like to be driving a carriage."

Hinata's face went red. She did not think that it was bad for her to drive and she also thought it would be nice to give Shino a break. "I..a..."

Sasuke smirked. It was just to easy. "Just keep an eye out." Sasuke looked to the trees. "With transportation like this, we will surely catch the attention of bandits."

Hinata nodded. She had also been thinking the same thing but she did not want to disrespect the Hokage. "I have b-been doing scans of the area every so o-often with my byakugan." It was another reason why she wanted to drive. It gave her a much better view of the area but she was a little scared to tell Sasuke.

Sasuke nodded. Impressed that the little Hyuga had caught on. "Good job." Sasuke was a little bit surprised by what he said. He was not one to give praise or acknowledgement. He could see out of the corner of his eye that Hinata was staring at him. Surprised herself by his comment but the shock quickly turned into a smile. He did not know why but seeing her smile because of what he said sent a small jolt through his body.

The two continued to sit there in comfortable silence. The team took turns resting in the carriage. Kiba had gone ahead earlier to scout the area and said that there wasn't any upcoming villages but there was a clearing that would be good for a makeshift campsite.

"Can't we just keep going?" Sakura asked. "When someone gets tired then we can just sleep in the coach."

"We c-could but we need to give Daisuke and Fusa some rest." Hinata interjected.

Sasuke gave her a look. "You named them?"

Hinata blushed but nodded. "Y-yes. Everyone deserves a name."

"So you named them _Great Help _and _Helpful Woman_?" Sasuke smirked.

"I-it's true, is it not? They are h-helping get to the Daimyo faster and m-making us look of r-royalty."

"You do realize that we aren't keeping them right?"

Hinata had a sad look on her face as she nodded. "Yes, b-but until then, they should still have a name, to be acknowledged."

Sasuke raised a eyebrow at the Hyuga. Why did she care so much about some random creatures? They were simply their transportation, nothing else. He couldn't help but wonder how someone like Hinata had become a ninja. The harsh reality of the shinobi world did not seem to fit her. She was much to kind and gentle. The conversation soon died out and they continued in silence until they came to a halt in a large clearing.

"I guess we should make camp now." Naruto announced to no one in particular.

Hinata brought the carriage to a halt and started getting the elk settled in. She fed them, gave them fresh water, and even groomed them. Sasuke watched her do of this and shook his head. Getting attached to anything or anyone was a big mistake. It only led to heartache. That is why he made sure to keep his distance from everyone around him. And if anyone got to close he pushed them away.

"Hinata, do you mind making dinner for us again?" Naruto called out to her. "Sakura offered but she isn't as good as you." That little comment gave Naruto a punch into the forest.

"Hey while you are out there, can you grab some more fire wood?" Kiba laughed watching the blonde sway as he stood up. He then turned to the blushing Hyuga. "But seriously, could you Hinata? I need Sakura's help with Akamaru." He then turned to the pinkette. "I think that Akamaru may have sprain something."

Hinata was still a little dazed by Naruto's compliment. It may have been the first time that he had ever acknowledged Hinata as better then Sakura. So while the others huddled around Akamaru, Hinata went to begin cooking.

Hinata tried for the third time to get the fire started but no matter how hard she could not get the fire started.

"Fire style: fire ball jutsu."

Hinata fell back as the pile of wood got engulfed in flame. She looked over to where Sasuke was standing not far from her.

"T-thank you Sasuke." He did not response and took a seat on the ground by the fire. Hinata got back to cooking.

A little while later the group was sitting around the campfire, eating some simple rice bean soup.

"Wow Hinata, how did you know this is my second favorite food!" Naruto slurped down his fourth bowl.

Hinata smiled. Actually she did not know, it so happened to be her favorite as well.

"So what are the plans for tomorrow?" Shino asked the group, briging them back to their mission. "It is another day of traveling. I sent my bugs ahead and they have told me that there are many villages ahead of us. That means that Sasuke and Hinata must stay in the coach the entire way, to keep their cover safe."

"Akamaaru needs to stay off his feet for a day to let his leg heal." Sakura chimed in.

"He will just ride on the roof like before, right boy?" Kiba patted his companion.

"Very well then. Who wants to take night watch tonight?"

"I can." Hinata volunteered. "I can sleep in the carriage tomorrow since I have to stay in it."

"That's a good point. So Sasuke do you want to do the same?" Shino looked over at the black haired shinobi.

Sasuke responded with a simple "Hn."

Shino took it as a yes and went back to his dinner. Once everyone was done the team went to sleep in their tents leaving Hinata and Sasuke alone.

"I c-can take first watch if you would like." Hinata looked down.

"No. You are probably tired from driving most of the day so you sleep first."

Hinata did not want to admit it but she was a little tired and her back hurt from driving. She thought it was nice of Sasuke to consider that. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all. "T-thank you." Hinata went to the tent that she shared with Sakura.

Because they were away from the public eye and did not have to pretend to be royalty, the girls were able to share a tent while Sasuke shared one with Naruto.

* * *

The moon was high in the night sky and Sasuke sat by the fire. He kept his eyes and ears alert for any disturbances. The mission was going smoothly, a little to smoothly for Sasuke's liking. Something bad was bound to happen sooner or later and he would rather get it over with now.

He heard a twig snapped and turned with his kunai ready and his sharingan ablaze.

"It's o-only me."

Sasuke could recognized that stutter anywhere and relaxed. "What are you doing here?" He deactivated his sharingan and put his kunai away. "Your shift isn't for two more hours."

"I-I couldn't sleep." Hinata came and sat next to Sasuke. "I t-thought I could take your shift early so you could get some sleep."

Sasuke noticed that Hinata's stutter was not as constant as it was before. "I'm not tired." It was a lie, he was exhausted but he knew that if he went to sleep then he would have the nightmare again.

"Oh."

The two sat in silence.

"So why couldn't you sleep?"

"I...a...it was a nightmare."

"Hn." Sasuke knew that feeling all to well.

"It was s-silly really." Hinata stared into the fire, forgetting she was talking to Uchiha. "I have the same nightmare every time. Everything starts out good. I'm a little girl running around the family garden, sniffing all the different flowers. I'm laughing and am actually happy for once. I turn around and see my mother walking close behind me with a smile on her face as well. I running further and further into the garden until I no longer see my mother. I call out to her but she never answers. That's when I notice the flowers are all wilted and dead. I get scared and run back to my mom. When I finally find her, she is lying on the ground, not moving. I crouch done beside her calling her name and shoving her to wake her up. But she doesn't move and I start crying. If I had been there, if I was stronger then maybe I could have saved her." Hinata did not realize it but she had a few tears falling down her cheeks. "I don't wake up until I see an image of my father looking down at me in disgust, looking at me as a failure."

Sasuke sat there and listened. Never saying a word. He was surprised by how similar Hinata's nightmare was to his. The two of them had something in common. They had both lost their mothers when they were young and it still haunted them to this day. He saw she was crying but he was not good in these situations. He never knew what to do. So he just sat there and let her have her moment.

Once the tears were finally done, Hinata wiped her eyes and looked at the Uchiha. He was just sitting there looking at the fire. "It's not your fault." He finally said, never looking at her but keeping his gaze on the flames. "You were young when you lost your mother. To have something so tragic happen to us when we are young is unfair. We do not fully understand what is happening or how much it affects our future. We are just engulfed in sadness, praying and hoping that it was all a bad dream. And everyday we wake up and have to face the reality again and again. We never give ourselves time to grieve for our lost."

Hinata stared at Sasuke. It sounded like he wasn't talking about her anymore. He probably forgot she was still there. She could hear the sadness in his voice. The pain and suffering that he had to live with all his life, and all alone. Hinata did not have many people for support when she was young, but she found them later in Kiba and Shino and in her sensei. But she had seen how Sasuke had kept his distance for everyone. She saw how he did not let anyone in, afraid that if he let someone in that they would just leave him like everyone else he had loved.

Hinata didn't want Sasuke to be alone. Everyone deserved someone, no matter what they had done in their past. Not really thinking about it Hinata squeezed Sasuke's hand. He turned and looked at the brunette. 'You are not alone Sasuke. I will always be here for you. You can grieve if you want. It does not show weakness to show that you are hurting. It shows strength. To be able to lay your heart on the line and show people that you are not perfect, that you do have feelings, THAT is true strength."

Sasuke did not say anything but he had listened to what Hinata had said. He did not fully agree with her. He did think it showed weakness, but that did not mean he did not appreciate her support. Hinata was the first person to reach out to him like she did. Not just physically but emotionally. He had said stuff to her that he had never said to anyone before. He did not know why he felt so comfortable with her. There was something about her that made him feel calm and almost peaceful. It was a nice feeling. A feeling that he did not have very often.

Sasuke still did not say anything even after a few minutes passed. Hinata was worried that she had angered him in some way but then she felt him squeeze her hand back. She knew that it was his way of saying thanks. Feeling better Hinata sat next to Sasuke, looking at the fire, and still holding hands.

Some time passed and the fire started to die down and the wind started to get stronger. Hinata had forgotten her favorite jacket in the tent and was only in her short sleeve mess shirt. She couldn't help but shiver when another gust of wind passed through.

Sasuke could see the Hyuga shiver out of the corner of his eye. He noticed the air turn cold but he did not feel it.

After the battle from Obito, Sasuke had ditched his open white shirt, blue pants, and purple rope belt. Deciding he had enough of looking like the spawn of Orochimaru. Instead he had changed his everyday outfit to a black tshirt with a light grey fitted blazer-like jacket with thin black stripes on the sleeves, collar, and bottom of it. The famous Uchiha fan was sprawled are the back of his jacket. He matched them with black shinobi pants with black sandals. He continued carrying his priced katana but kept it attached to his back instead of his hip.

The sword was currently laying against the log next to him. Sasuke took off his jacket and without meeting her gaze, handed her his jacket.

Startled by the gesture, Hinata just sat there and looked at the jacket.

"Just take it." Sasuke mumbled.

"T-thank you." Hinata took the jacket and put it on. Instantly feeling the warmth and smelling the scent of pine on it.

The two went back to silence still not meeting each other's gaze.

"Aw, now isn't this sweet." Someone called from the trees.

Sasuke tensed, he was right, things were about to turn bad.


	4. Chapter 4

Sasuke instinctively pushed Hinata behind him.

"I'm sorry, did we ruin a moment between you two love birds?" A man jumped out of a tree. He was short and stocky and was carrying a large hammer on his back.

"_Bandits. Sasuke said to keep an eye out for them." _Hinata watched as the man came closer.

"_Damn it. I was to wrapped up in Hinata that I didn't sense them. What an amateur mistake." _Sasuke gritted his teeth. He watched the man stand on the other side of the fire. He glanced at his katana laying against the log. If he reached for it now the man would see and he didn't know if he had backup. "Hinata.." He whispered. "How many are there?"

Hinata activated her byakugan. "Looks like there are ten counting him. They have us surrounded. They look like they are rogue shinobi, maybe chunin level."

That was nothing compared to the level they were at but somehow they had not heard the bandits enter the campsite. Sasuke looked to the tents trying to see any movements.

"Don't even try." The bandit smirked. "One of my friends was kind enough to put a sleeping jutsu on your friends. They won't be waking up any time soon." He then laughed. "We will let you go unharmed if you just hand over all your money." The man looked over Sasuke's shoulder at Hinata. "Well hello cutie. If this boy is bothering you then you are more than welcome to come along with me. I can show you what a real man is."

Sasuke clenched his fists. He wanted nothing more than to rip the guy's throat out for talking to Hinata like that.

Hinata had a light blush on her face from the man's innuendo but that did not stop her from responding. "I rather die than be anywhere with you dirtbag."

Sasuke smirked at the man's face and Hinata's comment. She was actually growing a backbone.

But the bandit did not enjoy the remark nearly as much and a look of anger crossed his face. He raised his hand and made a motion.

Suddenly kunai came at them from every direction.

"SASUKE DUCK!" Hinata yelled. Sasuke quickly followed orders and allowed Hinata to use her byakugan to block all the kunai.

The lead bandit seemed little shocked.

Sasuke took this moment to his advantage and grabbed his sword. Once he had it, with movement faster than the blink of an eye Sasuke was in front of the head bandit and sliced his chest with ease. The man gurgled out what sounded like a scream before he fell to the ground, dead.

Hinata knew that the other bandits had seen Sasuke's speed and strength and they all disappeared into the forest.

"They're retreating." Hinata let Sasuke know.

Sasuke wiped the blood from his sword and put it in its sheath. "Go check on the others."

"Hai." Hinata ran to Sakura's tent first.

When she walked in she saw the pinkette sleeping soundly. Hinata checked her chakra flow and saw that there weren't any disruptions. Hinata checked her vitals and everything seemed normal. She tried shaking the pinkette awake but she wouldn't move.

"How are they?" Sasuke walked into the tent.

"I…I don't know. Everything seems normal but I can't wake her up."  
Sasuke stared at Sakura's sleeping figure. "Maybe you should try on the dobe. The Kyuubi would have made sure that nothing of serious danger would have hurt him, so he may be easier to wake up."

Hinata nodded. It sounded like a reasonable idea.

Hinata walked into Naruto's tent and saw him sprawled out with his shirt off. Hinata blushed a little, feeling like she was seeing something she shouldn't. But she crouched next to the blonde and checked everything as well. Nothing seemed wrong.

'I'm going try something." Hinata leaned over and placed two fingers on each side of Naruto's head. She then sent short spurts of chakra through his temples. She waited a few moments before she sent another set of spurts through.

She was so concentrated on sending the chakra that she did not notice the blonde's eyes slowly open.

Naruto had just woken up from a deep and restful sleep and he was more than shocked when the first thing he saw was a pair of perky breasts. He saw it was Hinata and his face instantly heated up.

Sasuke was watching the whole thing and he was seething with anger. He grabbed the collar of his jacket that Hinata was wearing and pulled her up.

"W-what was that for?" Hinata asked looking up at Sasuke.

"I don't need you fainting right now."

"What? I was just trying" Hinata looked over at Naruto and saw him sitting up and rubbing his head. "Naruto! You're awake." But for some reason Naruto wouldn't look at her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be okay?"

"Let's go check on Sakura again. Maybe you can try that chakra to the temples." Sasuke was still holding Hinata by the collar and pulled her out.

"W-what? What's wrong with Sakura?" Naruto followed them to the girls' tent.

"W-we were attacked by some bandits." Hinata explained.

"What!"

"S-Sasuke was able to scare them off but they somehow put a sleeping jutsu on you guys. And I'm not totally sure how to wake them up."

The Hinata walked into the tent with Naruto behind her. Sasuke decided to stay outside. It was starting to get crowded in those tents, but he was still able to hear everything.

"What are you going to do?" Naruto asked.

"I'm g-going to try and do what I did for you." Hinata leaned over Sakura and tried sending chakra through her temple.

Hinata sat back and waited to see if anything happened. After a minute still nothing had changed, she was still sleeping.

"Maybe she needs a kiss?" Naruto rubbed his back and blushed. "I read some story where a kiss woke the girl up."

Sasuke just shook his head outside of the tent while Hinata was so shocked she didn't know how to respond.

Hearing no objections, Naruto slowly leaned over bringing his lips closer to Sakura's. Hinata looked away and shut her eyes. Not ready to see Naruto kiss another girl.

When he was just a few centimeters away, Sakura's eyes fluttered opened. When she saw Naruto's face she immediatey punched him, sending him and the tent into the air. "WHAT THE…." A vein on Sakura's forehead was throbbing. She sat up and saw a blushing Hinata.

"What is going on?" She asked as Naruto came crashing to the ground no too far away.

"Um….a…." Hinata stammered looking over at where Naruto had landed.

"You were under a sleeping jutsu." Sasuke said. "Some bandits put you and the others under it. It seems Hinata's idea worked, it just had a little bit more delay on you then the dobe."

Sakura's eyes widened in shock. "Bandits? Are you okay Sasuke?" She made a motion to touch him but he instantly flinched away. Hinata noticed the hurt look on Sakura's face.

"I'm fine." Sasuke mumbled. "We still need to take care of Shino and Kiba."

Hinata felt horrible for forgetting her own team. She ran straight to their tent and gave them chakra through their temples, even Akamaru's.

She sat there for a couple of minutes until they are started to move. Kiba was the first to awaken and sit up and Hinata jumped on him, giving him a hug. "Thank goodness you're okay."

"Woah there. Of course I'm okay. Why wouldn't I be?"

Hinata sat back and gave him a gentle smile. "We were attacked by some bandits and they had put all of you under some type of sleeping jutsu."

"WHAT!" Kiba took hold of both Hinata's arms. "Are you okay? Did they hurt you?"

"No. no. I'm fine. Sasuke took care of them."

"Sasuke?" Kiba let go of her and looked a little bit shocked. "So you and Sasuke fought together?"

"I wouldn't say we really fought. Sasuke took care of the leader and all the others fled once they saw him being killed." Hinata stopped for a moment and then suddenly jumped up. "Oh no!" She quickly ran out of the tent. "I have to check on Daisuke and Fusa!" But when she went to check on the elk, Sasuke blocked her way.

"They're fine."

"W-what?"

"I checked on them when you first went to see how Sakura was doing. The two of them are grazing as if nothing happened."

Hinata's heartbeat went back to normal. "Thank you Sasuke." She thought it was very kind of him to go check on the animals while she took care of the others. But she didn't know if he had done it because they need the animals for the mission or that he did it because he knew she cared. Either way, Sasuke didn't seem as bad as when she first thought at the beginning of the mission.

"I'm going to look everyone over just in case." Sakura declared.

"Since this night was ruined, do you guys want to head out now?" Kib asked. Everyone nodded in agreement. There was no need to stay anymore, not with there still being a risk of the bandits coming back.

Sakura started with Naruto and went around to each person to check their vitals. Hinata was waiting with Sasuke. She took a peak at Sasuke and noticed him just standing there, glaring out into the forest.

"Do you see something?" Hinata asked.

Sasuke looked down at her, looking like he had forgotten she was even there. "No." He then went to rub the back of his head.

When Sasuke moved, Hinata noticed a glint of red on his hand. "Sasuke! You're hurt!" Hinata pulled his hand down to examine it closer.

It was nothing serious. Just a superficial cut. It must have happened went they were attack by all the kunai. "I'm sorry Sasuke I must not have deflected all of them."

"It's nothing."

"At least let me heal it for you." Sasuke did not respond but he did not pull his hand away either so Hinata took this as an okay. Her hand was quickly covered in a green chakra as she rubbed it over Sasuke's hand.

Sakura, who was checking on Kiba at the moment looked over at the two. She noticed how Sasuke stood there watching the Hyuga. She also couldn't help but notice how Hinata was wearing Sasuke's jacket. A wave of jealously ran through her.

"There. All better."

Sasuke looked down and sure enough, there was no sign of being cut. "Hn."

"Everyone seems to be fine." Sakura declared. "We are ready to move out."

Hinata wasn't sure but thought that Sakura might actually being giving her a glare.

The team quickly packed everything up and started on their way.

* * *

Everyone was silent and on high alert. Hinata did constant scans with her eyes for any people. They had driven for a few hours and the sun was starting to rise and they still had not seen anything.

"I think we can calm down a little." Shino declared as they came out of the forest. 'From here on out, it is only open meadows and villages. An unlikely spot to be stopped by bandits."

"Still can't believe that we fell into their stupid trap." Naruto mentioned. "We should have known better."

"Luckily Hinata nad Sasuke were still awake and stopped them from doing any harm." Kiba answered. "And it just means we need to do better from now on. The hard part hasn't even begun."

"Everyone get into position." Shino called from the driver seat. "We are about to pass through the first village."

Sasuke and Hinata jumped into the carriage while the others took their positions around it.

Hinata peaked out the window and Shino had been right, the carriage was drawing attention. People were coming out of their homes and shops to watch the elk pulled carriage come through town. She looked over and saw that Sasuke had his face far from the window, looking straight ahead. He seemed to be deep in thought. She knew better than to interrupt his train of thought.

As Sasuke watched people look on as they drove by he couldn't help but think about the girl who was sitting a few feet away from him. He had never opened up to someone like he did the other night. He wasn't sure where it came from. It might have been how he felt an odd connection to the Hyuga girl, especially after hearing her nightmare. He thought he was the only one who had nightmares like that. To hear someone else goes through a similar thing gave him comfort. He also didn't understand why he had pushed her behind him. He had done it all out of instinct. There was something about her that he couldn't put his finger on. He didn't feel like she wanted anything from him. That she was being genuine with him. But it bothered him. No one was that nice or innocent. People always wanted something from him, Sakura wanted his love, even Naruto wanted to use him to get stronger. This girl wanted something from him, he would just need to find out what.

"Um, Sasuke?"

Sasuke broke out of his train of thought and looked over at the byakugan user. "What?"

"Are you alright? You seem upset."

"I'm fine."

"Oh…okay." The carriage went silent again.

"You aren't stuttering." Sasuke said not looking at her.

"What?"

"You aren't stuttering anymore."

Hinata blushed. "I guess not."

"Good." Sasuke turned back to the window but couldn't help but remember what Hinata had said when he had asked about why she did not stutter to her teammates. She had said it was because they were her friends. Did that mean she thought he was her friend? Sasuke didn't fully understand but he actually smiled at the idea of being Hinata's friend.

Hinata started to shift a little in her seat. They had been sitting in the carriage for who knows how long and it was in silence and it was starting to get to her. She knew that she couldn't really move but she could talk and that was something. Now all she had to do was figure out a way to make Sasuke talk. Easier said than done.

"Um…Sasuke…."

The Uchiha turned towards Hinata. "Yeah?"

Hinata started to play with her fingers. "What is it like being in ANBU?"

Sasuke raised his eyebrow at the girl. That question seemed to come from nowhere.

Hinata winced a little. She knew the question was stupid and random but she needed something to start the conversation and that question had been in the back of her mind for some time. She had been wanting to ask somebody and Sasuke seemed like a good choice. "Nevermind…"

"It's fine. Keeps me from dying of boredom."

Hinata was surprised he answered but still happy about it. "Is it hard?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Some missions can be, especially when you have to work with idiots like the dobe who doesn't listen to orders." Hinata couldn't help but giggle which surprised him. He would have thought that talking about Naruto like that would upset her. "Why do you ask?"

That stopped Hinata's laugh and she looked away, ashamed. She went and rubbed her shoulder. "I just joined and I'm worried that Tsunade-sama made a mistake."

"You are in ANBU?" Sasuke couldn't help but be a little shocked. How could someone so sweet and innocent like Hinata pass the tests to become ANBU? It took someone of great skill level to reach that level. Someone who was not just strong but also diligent and smart. Someone who had the ability to move without making a sound and kill without hesitation.

Hinata nodded. "I am the last one from my team to become ANBU and I just don't want to let them down."

"Hn." Sasuke could not deny he was a little irritated. He was an ANBU captain so he knew most of the members, which meant he knew about dog breath and bug boy being members and he would not say it out loud but they were good. When they put their masks on they were all business. They did not question his orders, they simply followed them. It was a nice change from the dobe who always questions his every move.

What irritated him though was the fact that Team 8 was the first team from their generations to have all their members reach ANBU. Team Gai would never succeed due to them losing their strongest member, Neji Hyuga. Team 10 was hopeless simply because Ino was not ANBU material. She just was too noisy and Chouji was not what a person called stealthy, especially with the constant crunch of chips. He thought that Team 7 was going to be the first with Naruto and Sasuke being the first of their generation to join the division. But as time went on he was not sure because Sakura seemed to be more interested in her medical training then joining the black-op team. Now that Sasuke thought about it, Hinata was the first and possibly the only kunoichi of their generation to join."

"Why did you apply if you thought that you would fail?" It was a simple question. One that Sasuke was surprised by the answer.

"At first I thought I was doing it for my cousin. I knew he had always wanted to join but the more I thought about it the more I realized I was doing this for myself. For once it was not for Neji, or my family, or even Naruto but for me. I wanted to protect those close to me."

"That's great and all but you could do that by being a simple medic-nin, like Sakura or even Ino."

"True." Hinata looked down at her hands. "I thought about doing the medical route but I realized it was not for me."

"Why not?" Sasuke wasn't one for conversation for the most part but he actually wanted to know more about this weird girl. Which irked him to no end.

"I did not want to be a medic-nin because I wanted to be on the front lines, to protect those precious to me. I did not want to be the one to heal the wounded when I could be the one to stop the wounds from ever happening."

Sasuke thought about what Hinata was saying. The idea had never really crossed his mind. He fought because it had come to him so easily. Strength was a great way to get what you want. Hinata' ideology was so foreign to him. To be so selfless was so far fetch to him. "You have people to fight for. I do not."

Sasuke didn't know when Hinata had moved but she was now sitting right next to him and had gently placed her hand on top of his. "Sasuke," She said barely a whisper. "You can have people to fight for, but no one can decide that but you.'

"Yeah, and how am I supposed to decide something like that?"

Hinata simply smiled. "There is really no real answer for that. I have heard Kakashi-sensei and even Shikamaru say it, you need to find your will of fire."

"Hn." Sasuke didn't answer but that did not mean he was not thinking about it. When he was younger he thought his will of fire was revenge. First against his brother and then against Konoha but now that has all changed. Now he had no will. He had nothing really to fight for.

Hinata did not push him to answer. She simply sat next to him, still holding his hand.

With most people, especially girls, Sasuke would pull his hand away but with Hinata it was different. When she held his hand he felt a little more at ease. She did not hesitate like she was afraid of what he would do like Sakura did or grip it like a fangirl like Ino. She just held his hand, simple as that. "Now I have a question for you, why do you love the dobe so much?" Sasuke could fell Hinata tense up at the question.

"I…a…I don't love him like what you are thinking, not anymore anyways." Hinata paused for a moment, like she was getting ready to get something of great significance off her chest. "I use to love him, everyone knew about it but the one that counted. I spent years, more then I care to think about, fawning over him. Thinking that one day, just one day, he would notice me and finally return my feelings. I even confessed to him that I loved him. I thought I was about to die going up against an opponent like Pain so I told him. I never expected a reply but I did survive and as more time went by the more I started to lose hope. I kept waiting and anticipated a reply but as more time went on the more those feelings started to diminish until they were not longer there."

"You're telling me that the idiot still hasn't said anything about your confession?"

Hinata shook her head and looked down. "Sometimes I can't help but wonder that the reason that Naruto never responded was because I'm not important or significant enough for him. That I'm just invisible to him."

Sasuke clenched his fists. He could not believe that Naruto was so dense. All this time he has been wasting chasing after someone as silly as Sakura when he had someone like Hinata chasing after him. She was a little weird at times but she wasn't that bad. She actually cared about Naruto, even before the fame and power. Instead of embracing it, he pushed it away.

Once upon a time, when Sasuke had still wanted to revive his clan he had thought about what kind of wife he had wanted. He knew that he would never ever want someone loud, abrasive, or temperamental like a certain pink haired kunoichi. He had wanted someone quiet, patient, and would actually listen to him when he spoke. He did not realize it at the time when he was young but Hinata fit most of what he had wanted. Of course that was a long long time ago. A lot had changed since then.

Suddenly the carriage came to a stop and there was a knock on the door. "We are at our stop." The door opened and Sakura stood there in shock. She looked at the close proximity of Hinata and Sasuke and then her eyes laid upon the two of them holding hands.

Sasuke did not really care, but Hinata let out a high pitch eep and retracted her hand quickly while a blush lightly dusted her cheeks. She stood up and straightened out her yukata and got ready to walk down the steps as a princess.

She walked by Sakura who was still gaping and did not even give her a glace.

Sasuke saw Sakura give him a look as if the ask what was going on but he simply ignored her. He did not have to explain himself to her nor did he want to. Sakura was always a pain in the neck. She was useless when they were young and it was only when she trained under Tsunade that she became something. But all that training did not stop her from still obsessing over him after all these years. He did not know how he could make the message even clearer that he was not interested in her in any way. Sasuke walked by Sakura and did not glance at her either. He followed Hinata into the hotel.

Everyone went to their rooms to rest, but there was a problem when Hinata and Sasuke walked into theirs. Their room had one large bed but no couch. Hinata wasn't sure what to do.

"I'll take the floor." Sasuke dropped his bag on the floor.

"Oh, n-no. I don't want you to do that." Hinata blushed, making her face look like a tomato. "W-we can s-share the bed."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "You think you can handle that?"

Hinata nodded. There was a moment of silence before Hinata started to fidget. "Um, I was thinking of going out to stretch my legs by training for a bit. Do you want to join me?"

Sasuke was a little surprise by the offer. The only person who ever asked him to train with them was Naruto. He had to admit he was a little on edge due to being stuck in the coach the entire trip. And if he was completely honest with himself, he was a little bit curious about the skill level of the Hyuga. "Sure."


	5. Chapter 5

The two of them changed into their ninja outfits and headed out to find a good area to spar. The two walked in comfortable silence.

Sasuke enjoyed it. He did not realize how much he needed to stretch his legs and he never liked to talk much so the Hyuga staying quiet was pleasant. Compared to his usual teammates, Hinata was actually a pleasure to be around. Sakura and Naruto never stopped talking. They either loved the sound of their own voices or they hated silence.

Sasuke was always the dark horse of the group. He had always knew that and he didn't care. When he joined the academy he had one goal in mind and that was all he cared about. He did not care if he had friends or not. That was not part of his self-declared mission. Some people saw it as sad but he saw it as survival.

Hinata glanced over at Sasuke ever so often. He seemed to be in his own little world. She could understand that. She too would get lost in her own thoughts whenever she went out for a walk. And she did not mind that Sasuke did not talk like most of her friends. Sasuke had pointed out to her that she did not stutter in front of him anymore. She was shocked when she realized that he was right. She would talked normally only in front of people that she felt completely comfortable with, only her friends. Sasuke probably would not like it but she now considered him a friend, especially after the bandits. And there was their little talks. Both time Hinata felt like she was seeing a part of Sasuke that he does not show to just anybody, maybe nobody at all. She felt honored that he would open up to her. It made her want to open to him as well.

"This spot is good."

Hinata broke out of her train of thought and looked over at the brunette. "What?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "This spot is good for some sparring."

Hinata looked around and realized that they were a good distance from the hotel and from the entire village. The area of open with a few trees here and there.

"Ready?" He asked.

Hinata nodded and got into position. "What are the rules?"

Sasuke shrugged. "No rules. Everything is allowed. I want to see if you are any good. Show me that you are meant to carry that tattoo."

Hinata nodded. She knew what Sasuke was trying to do. He was trying to psych her out by mentioning her insecurity about being ANBU, but she was not fooled. Sasuke wanted to see what she had than she was not going to let him down.

Sasuke stood there waiting. He expected Hinata to charge him like his other opponents did but she stood her ground. "Guess I will have to make the first move then." He reached into his weapon pouched and pulled out a few shuriken.

Hinata got ready for him to throw them but just when he brought his arm back, he disappeared. She instinctively went into high alert. Using all that was at her disposal to try and find his location. For a moment she could not find him but then just for a second she felt his chakra to the right side of her. Hinata shifted her weight and turned in time to block three shuriken. Sasuke was there for a moment than disappeared once again.

Hinata gritted her teeth. She could not just stand here and wait for Sasuke to attack. She had to make a move soon. She sent a wave of chakra to her eyes and looked around. Out of all the Hyugas, Hinata had some of the best chakra control, biggest reserves, and could see further than any other in her clan. Now it was time to put her skills to the test. Checking all around her, she finally found the Uchiha sitting in the trees, no doubting watching her.

Sasuke could see the girl thinking. She was calculating her next move. A good sign for ANBU. Naruto was strong, Sasuke could not argue that, but his weakness was the fact that he always charged into battle without thinking. He relied too much on his instincts and his huge chakra reserves. It was probably the main reason that the Hokage put someone else in charge of the missions rather than Naruto. Sasuke crouched in the trees, waiting for the Hyuga's next move. She had blocked his shuriken with good control and decent speed. She had only put in enough chakra to block the attack, nothing more. She did not want to waste any of her chakra. She continued to stand there and Sasuke was getting bored. He closed his eyes and sighed.

"Well this is going to be boring." When Sasuke opened his eyes they widened when he saw that Hinata was no longer standing in the field. "Shit." He quickly scanned the area.

Out of nowhere, Hinata came from above, directly above Sasuke, with her arm outstretched and the hand engulfed in blue chakra.

Sasuke used a burst of speed and jumped out the way as Hinata came crashing through the tree branch.

Now, the Uchiha was use to seeing areas being destroyed, especially when Sakura was around, but Hinata was not like that and collected herself before she went through the entire tree. She landed gently on the branch below where Sasuke had been standing.

Before he could readjust himself, Hinata came at him again. He could see the veins around her eyes bulging.

Hinata could clearly see Sasuke's network. She tried hitting the points but he was too fast. Everytime she would strike, he would move out of the way just in the nick of time. It was obvious that she needed to work on increasing her speed when she got back to Konoha. She was already feeling the strain of the spar while Sasuke looked like he wasn't even breaking a sweat. He wasn't really doing anything. Just dodging her attacks with a bored look on his face.

Seeing that look on Sasuke's face did something to Hinata that most people have never seen. It made her angry. She already knew that she was not even close to the level of Sasuke but did he really have to look bored?

Sasuke jumped to the ground, just barely missing another strike from Hinata. He had not activated his sharingan yet. He didn't really think he would need it against the Hyuga. Now he was doubting his choice. He was doing his best to look unfazed but Hinata's speed was better than he had first thought and he was doing his best to dodge her hands.

Hinata's attacks weren't like Sakura's. While Sakura used brute force, Hinata's attacks were much gentler. That did not mean that Hinata's attacks were any less dangerous. In Sasuke's personal opinion they were more dangerous that Sakura's strength. With Hinata's attacks, it did not feel like anything was happening until the very last moment when she gave the final strike. Sasuke hated to think about it but comparing the two kunoichi's attacks were a lot like his chidori and Naruto's rasengan.

He thought about when the two of them were much younger when they fought each other on top of the hospital. Sasuke thought about when Kakashi intervened and sent them both flying into the water towers.

Sasuke remembered the pride he felt when he saw that his chidori had demolished the water tower while Naruto's attack had hardly done anything. But then he jumped down and saw what Naruto's rasengan had done. It had destroyed the tower on the other side and Sasuke was furious about it. It was the start of his anger towards Naruto's increasing growth in strength.

Sasuke was getting tired of dodging Hinata's attacks and jumped away to get space between them.

Hinata stood her ground and watched the Uchiha carefully. Her byakugan was still flaring so she could see his chakra network. She was able to hit a handful of spots, but it was only a few and they were all over his body so they did not have a major effect on Sasuke. Hinata gritted her teeth. She was mad at herself. She used a good amount of energy trying to take out some of Sasuke's chakra points but she barely did that.

She did not move. She waited to see what Sasuke was planning to do and she also wanted to catch her breath.

"Not bad Hyuga." Sasuke smirked. "But you need to work on your speed."

"I know that." Hinata called out. "I plan on working on it when we get back to Konoha."

Sasuke shook his head. "That will not due. What if we are under attack on this mission and you need to be faster? Instead we will work on your speed now."

"Now?"

"Yes. Right now. I do not want to be with someone who is to slow to handle herself, so I am going to train you."

Hinata wasn't sure what to say. She didn't know if she should be honored or scared. She imagined that Sasuke was a harsh and cruel teacher and was going to be extremely critical of everything she does. "Ah…okay." Hinata was nervous but she was going to try her best.

* * *

For the next few hours Sasuke spent the time trying to teach Hinata how to increase her speed.

"Do not breathe so heavily. I can hear you." Sasuke scolded. Hinata immediately stopped breathing. She was currently hidden in the trees, trying to sneak up on the Uchiha. She was exhausted and her chakra was low but Sasuke was still pushing her. But she had to admit that he was a good teacher. He was a little harsh but not unreasonable and he taught her techniques that she never even heard about

"Breathe through your nose and not your mouth so you make no noise."

Hinata listened to what he said and with a deep breath, through her nose only, she started her attack.

Sasuke stood in the middle of the field, all his senses on high alert. He had been teaching Hinata for a long time now. He was surprised by how quickly she picked up the skills he taught her. She listened to what he said and did not question him, and that was something he liked. Naruto and Sakura questioned his every move which irked him to no end. He could finally see why the old bag had promoted the Hyuga to ANBU. She lacked confidence but had all the skill needed to succeed in the black ops division.

Sasuke would not admit it out loud but he would not mind having her on his team in future missions.

But that would have to wait. Right now, he wanted to see how much of what he had taught her had sunk in. All she needed to do was somehow come up behind him without him knowing it. Easier said than done. He did not live on the road for so many years by being stupid. If Hinata could do that, than he would be impressed.

Suddenly he heard a rustle in the nearby trees. _"So much for being silent." _Sasuke unsheathed his sword and held it out in front of himself. That's when he heard another rustle from the other side of the field. He turned to the direction of the sound. _"She got to the other side in good time. Good. Her speed is improving." _A second later, Hinata jumped out of the bushes and came running at Sasuke head on. He held his sword at ready, prepared for Hinata's attack. He was about to strike when suddenly she disappeared.

"Over here."

He turned and saw Hinata standing to his left. He turned, keeping her in front but she disappeared again and showed up behind him.

"I mean over here."

He tried following her but she was moving to fast, he was about to activate his sharingan when he felt a sharp point in his back.

"Not bad." He smirked.

Hinata withdrew her kunai and stepped back with a smile on her face.

"You still need to work on your silence. You were way to noisy."

"I know." Hinata looked down. "It is just a little hard being silent and being at that speed. I will just need to train some more."

Sasuke put his sword back. "Calm down. I will teach you some more points tomorrow night."

"Tomorrow night?"

Sasuke pointed to the sun. "We have been training all night. Tomorrow night we should be at the Fire Diamyo's palace. It will be a good time to practice your stealth when we search the area."

"Oh..okay." Hinata smiled. "Thank you for helping me."  
"Hn. Don't mention it." Sasuke gave her a look. "And I mean it."

"Alright." Hinata still smiled. Not fazed by the glare the Uchiha was giving her. She then let out a yawn. "We should get back before the others get worried."

"Hn."

* * *

After they all gathered for breakfast and talked over their plans the group set off for the palace. Sasuke and Hinata were now stuck, once again, inside the carriage.

Hinata did her best to look regal. She was wearing her best traveling yukata. A pure white fabric with lavender colored flowers on it and wrapped in a tan obi. She looked over at Sasuke who was sitting right next to her. He was wearing a gray yukata with an ebony colored obi. It made him look even more dark and mysterious.

"You look awful." Sasuke stated.

"W-what?"

"You look like you are about to collapse. Get some sleep now. You need to be on high alert tonight."

"Right." Hinata let out a small yawn. "You will keep watch and wake me up if anything happens?"

"Hmph. Of course."

Hinata gave him a small smile and then leaned against the carriage wall and quickly fell asleep.

The carriage continued to bump along the road. Sasuke spent the time looking out the window, wishing he could be outside instead of stuck in the cramp carriage. He knew that he had to stay inside because he was supposed to be a prince but he was not use to being stuck inside all the time. He let out a deep sigh as the carriage hit a rather large bump. Suddenly a small fragile looking figure fell into the Uchiha's lap. She had been asleep for so long that Sasuke had nearly forgotten about the Hyuga, but now her head was in his lap.

He wanted to wake her up but he told her to rest and she also looked quite beautiful when she slept. She had an angelic serene look on her face when she was asleep. A piece of her indigo hair had fallen, without really realizing it he lightly brushed it away from her face. Being nice for once, Sasuke allowed Hinata to sleep in his lap as he went back to looking out the window.

As soon as the team got to the palace they would need to check out the surrounding area and learn who spent the most time around the Diamyo. Sasuke had done a few assassinations in his day so he had a pretty good idea of how the person would do it.

Eventually the carriage came to a stop and the door opened. Sasuke covered his eyes from the sudden change in lighting.

"Hey, its time for a quick break." Naruto poked his head inside and his eyes caught Hinata's head in Sasuke's lap. "WHAT THE!"

"Shut up dobe." Sasuke hissed.

Naruto shut his mouth but still gave the Uchiha a look.

Letting out a sigh Sasuke gently moved Hinata's head and got up, making sure that she didn't wake. He got out of the carriage and saw Naruto with his arms crossed giving him a stupid smile.

"What's with that dumb look on your face?"

Naruto just grinned back. "I saw you in there with Hinata. You two looked awfully cozy."

"I don't know what you are talking about." Sasuke shoved Naruto aside to walk to where the others were gathering to have lunch.

Naruto just caught up and walked next to him. "Good for you man. Hinata is awesome and its about time you found a girlfriend."

That's when Sasuke spun and grabbed Naruto by his neck, holding him an inch off the ground, his sharingan flaring. "She is not my girlfriend. You will not tell anyone about what you saw. Got it?"

Naruto was to busy trying to breathe to respond.

Sasuke dropped the blonde and Naruto fell to his knees gasping. "Geez, I was just joking man. Calm down."

Sasuke just turned and continued to the others.

"N-Naruto?"

The blonde looked over and saw a petite girl coming out of the carriage, rubbing her eyes. When she saw Naruto on his knees she immediately woke up and ran over to him.

"Are you okay? Does Sakura need to look at you?"

"Heh, no I'm fine Hinata. Glad you are awake. We stopped for some lunch and I would much rather you make it than Sakura."

Hinata gave him a smile. "Alright. Then I'll make you some ramen to help you feel better."

Naruto instantly perked up when he heard ramen. "You're really the best Hinata. Sasuke is stupid."

"Excuse me?" Hinata gave him a confused look.

"Nothing." Naruto smiled. "Let's go see everyone else."

Once they had finished lunch, the group continued on their way. They would reach the palace before dinner.

* * *

The rest of the journey was quiet. Hinata felt better after she had slept but she was worried about Sasuke. Ever since she had woken up he seemed distant. He barely talked to her and he would not make eye contact. She was worried she had done something wrong.

"I'm sorry." She looked down at her hands.

Sasuke who had been silent the whole time, looked over at her. "What are you sorry for?"

"I'm sorry that I was a bad student last night and that I fell asleep earlier."

"What are you talking about? You did well last night and I told you to sleep."

"But you, besides now, weren't talking to me and you won't even look at me. I must have done something wrong to upset you and for that I am sorry."

Sasuke did not understand this woman. That lack of confidence made her believe that everything was her fault. When really, it had nothing to do with her, well sort of. The reason why he was so upset was because of what Naruto said. Usually when the blonde joked with him about girls he would just ignore him but when he mentioned Hinata something snapped. He reacted irrationally and now it was bothering him as to why. But when he looked over at the Hyuga with her large innocent eyes he felt his frustration melt away.

"You did nothing wrong. Just personal stuff."

"Oh okay. Well if you wanted to talk about it I'm always here."

"Hn."

Moments later there was a knock on their door. "We are heading into the city now. Get ready." Sakura called out.

Finally after their long journey they had made it to their destination. The real mission was about to begin.


End file.
